We the People, the True Rulers

This is part 1 of what I intend to be a multi part essay of which 5 parts are currently finished. I'm going to archive it on my website but the
overhaul may take a little while. Since this essay is inspired by my years of involvement with the ATS community I thought I would share it with you
guys and see what you think. I'm going to post part one now and allow a brief discussion and then post part two and hopefully continue on like
that.

The purpose of this essay is to hopefully awaken American citizens to the truth that we the people are in fact the true, rightful rulers of this
nation.

The Truth About America (working title)
by Neuman E. Wood

Part 1: This Land is Your Land

The founding of America was a very special occurance in the history of government. It marked the first time that a country was founded on the belief
that a country should be run by the citizens that make up it’s populous and the idea that the government and it’s elected officials should need to
answer to those they governed. The greatest fear our founding fathers had was that their newly created system of government would eventually degrade
into a totalitarian rule such as the one they had just fought so viciously against. It seems that these days we are hurtling ever faster towards the
nightmare that kept our founding fathers up at night and the root cause of that acceleration is the ignorance of the common citizen as to the true
ownership of this nation.

Above all else the most sacred tenant of this country is freedom, the freedom to speak, write and believe how ever we wish. Never once were we
expected to be subservient to a government created with the sole purpose of serving us. However, it seems the accepted notion of this age is that we
are subjects of the Federal Government and must obey it’s laws and rules regardless of whether we believe in them or whether they actually protect
the common good of the populous. It seems people have forgotten what America actually is.

When we invoke the name America what we are really referring to is the citizenry that makes up the country, it’s the people of America not the
government. Make no mistake, this land is our land and we allow the government to use it. The cold hard truth is that the government is meant to
have no more power than that which we give to it. Every time the government increases and expands it’s power, even to the point of infringing on
our most sacred rights, it is the people that have allowed it to happen.

Our government was created as a representative government and our rights were seen as unalienable rights granted by the creator at birth. In other
words, we were “Born Free” and no government, king, tsar or president has the ability to take it away from us unless we allow it. Contrary to
modern belief, Freedom is not granted by a government, it can only be given up by the citizens. As a representative government our elected officials
should be representing us. They should seek to ensure the security and prosperity of their citizens and their freedoms and it is the duty of every
citizen to ensure that our government does just that.

From the East Coast to the West Coast, from the Canadian Border to the Mexican Border, this land is ours. The government, and our elected
“leaders” are our employees, we elect them and we write their paychecks and when they refuse to do their jobs then it is our right to fire them.
Every time the government infringes on our rights, every time they invade our privacy, every time our resources are exploited and stolen from us it is
an act of treason and a crime against the American citizen.

We are not powerless, we are the owners of the most powerful country in the world at this time and are protected by our God given rights as citizens.
We should not be afraid to tell our employees they are doing a bad job, we should not be afraid to fire them when they become detrimental to the
ideals on which this nation was founded. Never forget, that this land is your land and no one will protect your rights if you won’t do so yourself.

I hate to break it to you but if you really think that
" We the people " are in charge , you are badly mistaken ..

edit -

After reading that , i thought it seemed like a put down to you or
your belief's .. If it does to you , I am sorry .. Truely .I only wanted it
to be a statement .. Not a put down ..For me , only , and i mean only , when people learn to stand together , not in political party's or on
different sides of the line , will it be truely "WE " the people .. And what a great day that would be . Thanks , and again , Sorry .

I would be more than happy to help spread this. It is refreshing and I think that for "We the People" to happen ...it will take mass education on
some level...This is a great way to get people thinking and that is what we need as a country.

If we all do our bit to spread the message, perhaps one day the system will be broken. The zeitgeist film is a great help also, but the majority must
wake up before anything can be done and convincing some of the people who are so deeply stuck in the system is a difficult challenge indeed.

I'm glad to see shadowflux talking about "we the people." I wish more people would. As an old school populist, I like this point of view and I
draw a great deal of inspiration from it. As much as we dabble in conspiracy theory, we sholdn't forget that there are plenty of reasons to be
optimistic. As we dig in to the details of whatever the lastest scandal happens to be, we can forget that America is still ours...even if just for
the moment.

In the same way that we can agree to disagree with others, we need to learn how to takethe optimism, even when it doesn't fit it with what we're
thinking at the moment. We all of us need hope, even if we don't take hold of it. Social and political elites may have their claws in to the
americans fabric, but then again, so do...we.

I like what you've written but I'm going to give some mean criticism in the hope it would make it better...
A few bits need to be re-written...
E.g: "Never once were we expected to be subservient to a government created with the sole purpose of serving us."
To: Never once were we expected to be subservient to a government that strives to control us in order for it to pursue, what it (and not the people)
define as the common good.
On the contrary, our democracy was designed so that politicians who pursue long term agendas against the will of the people, would in the long term
either fail to maintain power or at least fail to see the continuation of they're policies against the will of the people.

I don't know what you’re next writing but you need to do a bit about the enemies of the United States e.g. the mass media, the corruption of the
political system caused by an addiction to multi million dollar donations.
You should explain that because at the time America was founded there was no Television, there was no need to limit the campaign budgets of
political parties.
I would advise that you support the private funding of political parties (because the founders did) but that you do not support the multi million
dollar annual budgets of political parties. A cap on annual budgets would allow Americas large political parties to pursue whatever policies the
public pleases, without having to worry about raising cash from millionaires who too have a common track record of expecting something in return for
they’re “investment”.

Anyway I know I'm not writing this, you are, so do what you please with my suggestions. I hope I’ve been of help, but if not; I still wish you the
best of luck.

great read. I enjoyed it. And I agree. This is OUR country, OUR land. We need to keep OUR freedom. Whether race, creed, etc, we are Americans first
and foremost and it's time we all start to remember that, good sh*t!

I'm glad people have enjoyed part one and it's inspiring that there are still those that view America as I do and wish to have it returned to it's
rightful owners. I'll try my best to respond to everyone and then post part 2.

gen.disaray,

After reading that , i thought it seemed like a put down to you or

No need to apologize, I understand what you're saying. I don't disagree that the current rulers are the elitists and the billionaires but I believe
we the people are both the rightful rulers and, through the power of majority, we still have the power to change it.

dgtempe,

You go!!!
Maybe you can place it in Newspapers as an Editorial, Maybe you can make it public somehow. There are ways!

Thank you for your words of encouragement dg. My real goal behind this is the dissemination of this information to as many citizens as I can reach.
I had thought of sending it to a newspaper or perhaps a few websites, I'm not sure what publications to target yet so any advice is appreciated.

I'd like to reach both left wing and right wing thinking people as there are those who know the truth on both ends but I suppose the left leaning
crowd might be more receptive at least at first.

unclear,

I would be more than happy to help spread this. It is refreshing and I think that for "We the People" to happen ...it will take mass education on
some level...This is a great way to get people thinking and that is what we need as a country.

By all means show it to anybody you'd like. I've tried to write so it is easy enough for anyone to understand without any complex political
theories or terminology. I believe that, at it's essence, the fundamentals of America are easy for anyone to understand. At it's core, America is
simply about Freedom for all. Since the educational system and the mass media have no desire to teach us the truth I feel it's my duty as a citizen
and patriot to educate as many people as I can.

mrmanuva,

If we all do our bit to spread the message, perhaps one day the system will be broken. The zeitgeist film is a great help also, but the majority must
wake up before anything can be done and convincing some of the people who are so deeply stuck in the system is a difficult challenge indeed.

I agree, we all need to make sure that the true spirit of America will never die. I liked Zeitgeist a lot as well, I thought it's greatest aspect
was the simplicity with which all it's information was presented. The system we are currently trapped in can be broken because the true system of
American governance is the rule by the majority of the citizenry.

People will come around because I feel that every American, no matter how ingrained into the system they are, will always value their freedom above
all else.

nowayreally,

Awesome thread!!!!

I keep envisioning a world in which every person I meet, and every person that exists is as bright and logical as my fellow ATS Members.

If 'we, US PEOPLE were the rulers', only then would one be able to value the threads statement, and rightfully use the word 'true'.

This is a dream we both share and is one I feel is a possibility one day. I believe we are in fact the true and rightful rulers of this nation and we
have been swindled into believing otherwise.

America Jones,

We have too many "leaders" in Washington and not enough Representatives.

Boycott the Two-Party System in 2008.

Vote for yourself! It's the only way to be sure you're not voting for a fascist.

I couldn't agree more with your first statement, every American should demand that their elected official do their job and actually represent their
constituents. I believe the two party system is a great hindrance to our freedom and we were never meant to be forced to choose between two
candidates we don't like.

However, I don't think I'd want to be president, I'd rather vote for Ron Paul.

Justin,

I'm glad to see shadowflux talking about "we the people." I wish more people would. As an old school populist, I like this point of view and I draw
a great deal of inspiration from it. As much as we dabble in conspiracy theory, we sholdn't forget that there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
As we dig in to the details of whatever the lastest scandal happens to be, we can forget that America is still ours...even if just for the moment.

Thanks for the good words Justin. I feel there is a distinct reason why the talk of "We the people" has been silenced. If Americans woke up to who
the true owners and rulers were meant to be they would not stand quietly in the shadows as our freedoms are stripped from us. We're being steered
away from seeing the truth, constantly distracted by soft news and fabricated stories. The time is far over due to wake up the citizens and I feel I
can no longer be silent on this subject.

Liberal1984,

I like what you've written but I'm going to give some mean criticism in the hope it would make it better...

Thanks for the advice, I will take it into consideration. I covered the mass media and educational system a bit in "Part V: Knowledge is Power" but
I intend to go into it in slightly more detail in later sections. I like the idea of dedicating a section to the electoral process. Thank you for
you kind wishes.

stress,

great read. I enjoyed it. And I agree. This is OUR country, OUR land. We need to keep OUR freedom. Whether race, creed, etc, we are Americans first
and foremost and it's time we all start to remember that, good sh*t!

Thank you for your supportive words. This is the thought process I'm trying to initiate in as many as I can.

I hope I haven't missed anyone or any important points, if I have I'll try to address them after I post Part II.

Here it is:

Part II: Freedom is Not Given

It seems there is a common misconception prevalent among citizens today and that is the notion that our rights and freedoms are somehow granted by
our government. However, many may not realize that this notion is completely opposite to the original meaning of the founding of this country.
America was founded on the belief that there are certain rights that are inalienable and granted to every person. These rights were not granted upon
ratification of the Bill of Rights or upon the signing of the Constitution but were ours before we were even born.

Terminology is very important in certain instances and the term “inalienable rights” was very carefully and purposefully chosen. It means that
these rights can not be taken away any more than a person’s soul can be taken away by a ruler or government. Our freedom to think, speak and
believe in any way we wish are our rights as human beings and not solely rights awarded to citizen of the United States.

Our founding fathers intended that we the people be the ultimate protectors of our rights and never expected the government to protect our rights for
very long. Every citizen is the guardian of his or her own rights and freedoms and the only one with the power to deny themselves those freedoms.
Since freedom is so inalienable and inherent in the birth of every human the only possible method of denying freedom is to get the individual to give
it up willingly and that is exactly what we’ve been doing since September 11.

Citizens have been swindled into thinking that their rights are somehow a privilege, a privilege that might be taken away if we don’t obey orders.
Our right to gather and protest has been curtailed because the populous has been steered into demanding it. Our freedom of speech and our freedom of
the press has been curtailed by the fear of being considered a terrorist or subversive and being put on a list. Our right to bare arms is being
stolen from us because we have been lead to demand the banning of private gun ownership. Our privacy has been invaded because we have been told that
it will make us “safer”. The true guilt for this and more rests solely on the shoulders of the people.

Our freedom should be our most sacred possession, our most guarded asset and should never be willingly given up for any reason. You may lose your
house, your family and all your monetary worth but without freedom you have nothing. We are the guardians of our freedom and we, the people, have the
most to lose by giving these up.

Terminologically speaking, it might be worthwhile to review what aristocrats educated in Enlightnment thought (i.e., the people who wrote the
Constitution) understood "freedom" to mean, and how it was seen as different from "liberty."

The word "freedom" appears in neither the US Constitution nor the Declaration of Independence (although the word does appear in reference to Speech
in the Bill of Rights).

Freedom is what exists in the absence of government: it is a lack of political constraint.

To J.J. Rousseau, freedom represented the utopian environment of the noble savage. Think small tribes of hunter-gatherers. To Thomas Hobbes, freedom
was so nasty, brutish, and short-lived as to be nearly worthless. In either case, one might be subject at any time - and without guarantee of
repurcussion - to another person or group's arbitrary exercise of power or authority.

Although the founding documents of the United States make relatively little mention of "freedom," what they do discuss at length are "the Blessings
of Liberty."

Liberty is protection from the arbitrary exercise of authority. It is what citizens receive from laws and government, through the Social Contact, in
exchange for giving up absolute individual freedom.

Whether or not you believe the Social Contract to be a valid description of civilization, this is the terminology upon which our system of laws is
founded. This terminology constitutes the assumptions that underlie the behavior of our lawful organizations.

When your government, claiming heritage of the US Constitution, starts chipping away at your civil liberties in order to spread freedom around the
globe, you are getting government on the credit system. Your income tax is paying for more than you're getting, and every year, inflation makes sure
you get the short end of the stick. When your President tells you about how great your freedoms are, he is screwing you in the rear with a gun to
your head, telling you how much you're loving it.

Your vote represents the ability to send a message. If the best candidate in the world is running as a Democrat or a Republican, and you vote for
that candidate, you send an implicit message that the two-party system is a reasonable way to go about running American politics.

Don't support the two-party system. It's not working for individual US citizens. It's only working for corporations, and the statistical
constructs we all like to call "consumers." Don't give up on voting: that helps nobody. But whatever else needs to change, I don't see how
anything will get any better while America keeps giving the Two-Party Circus reason to believe they're doing legitimate business.

whatever new order that fights agianst this one will turn out to be exactly the same in that it will strive to keep its power. And one day the whole
universe will freeze or die a heat death. why do we even pretend we are winning. Not to sound nihilisitic but isnt this the truth. I would love
someone to tell me something hopeful like aliens are giong to come and save us or we are giong to ascend but unless i have completely misenterpreted
reality and physics, entropy rules. The only hope of freedom In my opinion is to realize you have no fredoom you do what the body compelles you to do
and all species no matter how robust will eventually go excinct and that includes us. The self is an illusion and you have no choice to be irritated
by this and my bad spelling. ha ha ha ha ha.

also this isnt our land we stole it form the natives and built monuments to our superiority. most humans cant handle "freedom" we are like many
animals that it is hard wired into us that we have a social hierarchy. Just like animals humans will fight to set up a social hierarchy until the top
dog gets to weak to stay at the top and the cycle repeats itself. Its biology. Does anyone remember high school. its like the microcosm. sorry if i am
offending anyone i have tried really hard to be optimistic but its getting very hard to see.

Thank you for your well thought out response, I will try to respond as well as I can. Freedom, in my mind, is that state in which we are all created.
We are born as nothing more than a human being on this planet, we have no prejudices, no ideologies, no beliefs and no judgments. We have no concept
of social acceptability or an idea of success or failure. We have no way of deciding what is good and what is bad, what constitutes the difference
between "Us" and "Them".

Our natural and original state is pure freedom, it is only later in life that we are taught to believe differently. Pure freedom may entail anarchy,
and I would agree that a set of laws and regulations are needed in order to protect the liberty and common prosperity of a people and nation.
However, I fear we may lose our understanding of our natural state of freedom, that we may begin to view ourselves as subjects of ideologies and
restrictions we don't agree with.

While we may need some sense of law and order, the power to create and destroy those laws should rest in the hands of a populous well informed of
it's individual and communal freedom.

Realtruth,

Great thread. People are truly in charge just as long as they do not give their power away to whoever or whatever, once this is done the people at the
top have the power.

This is exactly the point I wish to convey. Thank you for your support

Priloco,

I understand your pessimism and nihilism. For a while I was becoming quite the nihilist myself until I realized a few key things. We must each come
to the realization of truth through our own path and I believe nihilism to be as good a starting point for some as any other. Whatever you do, never
stop questioning.

It may seem a fruitless endeavor at times, it is true that one day all we know will be annihilated but that is precisely why the realization of truth
is so important. One day we will both die, our bodies will decompose and be reabsorbed by the natural system of this planet, eventually the planet
will be vaporized but the matter that once made up our bodies will still go on in whatever form it may take.

Money, power, possessions, status, titles, none of these are important. Love, family, friendship and the realization that we are all in this together
are what is important. We are animals, as you have said, but what separates us from the instinct driven animals is our ability to understand the
world and realize that we must help each other and live together. There will always be those who seek power but there will always be those who
understand the true nature of the human experience.

I'm not irritated by your post and I would be the last to condemn someone for poor spelling. By the way, welcome to ATS.

Great thread. I totally agree with what you are saying. Government has become way to large and impinges on all phases of our daily life. Good
government, in my opinion, is the smallest government possible to meet or needs.

We have allowed ourselves to be put in this situation through apathy. Government has grown to the size it is because most Americans really don't
care. It is so much easier to sit back and be told what to do than to think for yourself. We have been conned in to giving up our rights because it
was the easiest way to go. Our rights continue to be eroded and only a handful of people stand up and bitch. A few more people rant and rave online
but the vast majority just sit back and say OK.

Until someone or something can light a fire under "We The People" nothing will change.

I don't know the answer I can only see the problem.

Maybe something like this could be a start but only if we are able to get it to the mass media.

Whether or not you believe in a metaphysical conception of free will, humans have in the past and will continue in the future to identify a
distinction between freedom and liberty. These terms are phenomenological descriptions of human social organization, and stand independent of
whatever mechanism one uses to account for their presence in our world. Whether we have freedom and liberty as a consequence of metaphysical free
agency, or as a consequence of emergent physical phenomena, we feel such things as duty, and have the ability to perceive moral and ethical
obligations.

Such perceptions rely on one's ability to conceive of things that don't exist (i.e., one does not feel a sense of duty if what needs getting done
has already been done). Yes, we have lots of equations and the whole of quantum mechanics to tell us which things that don't exist might be
considered as probable to come into existence, but even if you think of Life as a purely physical phenomenon, scientific and mathematical Theories
such as the Church-Turing Thesis and Godel's Incompleteness Theorem apply. Which means, even if Life is a purely physical phenomenon, and our
physical description of the Universe is infinitely detailed and all-encompassing, unpredictable things will still happen. So why not give your
ability to perceive yourself as having a free will the benefit of the doubt?

The Western scientific method divides systematic inquiry into a few distinct stages: one starts with a description of an observation, one develops a
hypothesis to account for the observation, one conducts tests in order to formulate a theory to explain the observation, and one attempts to construct
laws to predict under what circumstances one might again encounter the phenomenon one initially observed. Because everything one observes ought to be
the mechanical consequence of laws, the strength of the scientific method consists in its ability to predict observations based on laws.

So conduct an experiment. Do you ever observe yourself as having free will? Try picking up a glass and dropping it on the floor. Does it work? Try
again. If you run out of glasses to drop on the floor, can you go out and get another? Can you predict which glasses you can drop on the floor?
Might one explain this ability as a consequence of free will? Or, if nothing else, of one's own perception of free will? Is this not the Eternal
Golden Braid?

Questions of free will aside, if one takes the most conservative (NOT "neo-conservative") view of government possible, you have a point: no matter
what the form of government, some people will try to come out on top. People will always try new and unforeseeable ways of doing so. But the
question remains: what form of government is most effective at limiting the potential exploitation of this fact?

In the strictest sense, Anarchism (akin to Libertarian Conservatism) and fascism (akin to Neo-Conservatism) both exist on the same axis. Anarchism as
a form of decentralized socialism (espoused by Bakunin and Proudhon) and fascism as a form of totalitarian authoritarianism both recognise that some
system of government must exist to acknowledge and enforce agreements among parties. They differ in the obtrusiveness with which they do so, insofar
as individuals are concerned.

If you have concerns that your pretend free will should not be employed in the pursuit of responsible governance, like a silent Zeno shaking his fist,
I would suggest you read Martin Buber's "I and Thou." Walter Kaufmann is my favorite translator, and has an intelligent translation of Buber's
work. The only individuals who encounter fate are those who have encountered freedom.

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